CONNECT

Vision and Goals

CONNECT helps people achieve sustainable living wage jobs and financial health and wellbeing by partnering to provide essential skills, knowledge and social capital in one central and supportive location.

Partners

Service Summary

CONNECT offers the services of five agencies working to improve the financial mobility of low-income families. This innovative collaboration capitalizes on greater utilization of existing services that are collocated, integrated and managed collectively to achieve greater impact for clients and greater efficiencies for service providers.

Highlighted Services

COACHING

Residents have diverse experiences and diverse problems, but beyond the struggles of poverty, residents have big dreams for themselves, for their families. Coaching brings a qualitative approach to the problems facing the community and helps residents map a course to those dreams.

VITA: VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX ASSISTANCE

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) keep nearly 2 million people out of poverty each year. Through volunteer training, client outreach, and operating multiple sites, CONNECT provides one of the most robust VITA programs in the region with 42 volunteers serving 1,100 and returning $1.7 million to residents.

Sierra Leone Refugee Recovers from Layoff

Fleeing war-torn Sierra Leone, Victor S. arrived in the United States in 2004. At Marriott Long Wharf, he was trained in food service and then found work at a high-end grocer for ten years. Life in the U.S. stabilized -- until new management laid off everyone in his department.

Devastated by the abrupt layoff, Victor turned to CONNECT. Financial Coach Anne Auerbach advocated for Victor, persuading his previous employer to write a strong letter of reference. Armed with this letter and a personal reference from Coach Auerbach, Victor quickly landed new job. He has also received much needed housing assistance from Matt Gibson of CONNECT’s housing partner MHB.

Milestones

Janet Yellen, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, kicked off her visit to Boston with a tour of the area’s most innovative financial opportunity center, CONNECT.

2016 – The launch of CONNECT 2.0, a data driven approach to generating paths to services and increasing CONNECT’s capacity.

Invest in Families

Your contribution of any amount will support our mission to build vibrant and diverse neighborhoods with homes that are affordable to families with a mix of incomes, where people choose to invest in the social fabric, economic opportunities and built environment.